WEBVTT SOLEDAD: I AM SOLEDAD O'BRIEN.WELCOME TO "MATTER OF FACT."IT IS VETERANS DAY WEEKEND AND A CHAN TO FOCUS ON IN OF THE BRAVEST AMONG US. THE MEDAL OF HONOR IS THE HIGHEST AWARD THAT CAN BE GIVEN TO A MILITARY HERO IN THIS COUNTRY.IT IS BESTOWED BY THE PRESIDENT ON BEHALF OF CONGRESS FOLLOWING AN EXTRAORDINARY ACT OF BRAVERY.IT IS AND HONOR RESERVED FOR THOSE WHO RISK THEIR OWN LIVES ABOVE AND BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY IN ACTION AGAINST AN ENEMY.MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER ACCOLADE, IT ADVANCES CAREERS, PROVIDES A LIFETIME STIPEND AND ALLOWS THE CHILDREN OF HONOR'S A SMOOTH PATH INTO THE MILITARY ACADEMIES.FOR THOSE HONORED, IT MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.TODAY THE STORIES OF TWO HEROES. COLONEL HARVEY BARNUM, WHOSE CAREER SCIROTTOED AFTER HE RECEIVED HIS MEDAL, AND STAFF SERGEANT MELVIN MORRIS, A HERO WHOSE HONOR WAS DELAYED FOR DECADES.>> AS SEYMOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL IN NOVEL, TENNESSEE, THEY ARE GREETED LIKE HEROES COME HOME FROM THE WORE.50 YEARS AND 10,000 MILES FROM VIETNAM, TWO OF AMERICA'S BRAVEST SOLDIERS ARE MAKING ONE OF THEIR MANY STOPS TO SPEAK ABOUT THE VALUE OF EDUCATION, SERVICE AND PATRIOTISM. THESE TWO WAR HEROES HAVE LIVED VASTLY DIFFERENT LIVES. BOTH ARE VETERANS OF THE WAR IN VIETNAM.HARVEY, BARNEY BARNUM RECEIVED THE MEDAL OF HONOR IN 1967 AT AGE 26, AND IT TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE. >> IT WOULD BE NAIVE TO BELIEVE IT DIDN'T.YOU'RE IN THE SPOTLIGHT 24/7. AFTER I GOT DECK TATED, IT WASN'T CAPTAIN BARNUM, IT WAS CAPTAIN BARNUM, THE GUY WITH THE MEDAL, MAJOR, LUTE COLONEL BARNUM. YOU ARE ON A PEDESTAL AND YOU ARE IN VIEW.>> THE REPRESENT OF VIETNAM, DECEMBER 18TH, 1965.IN THE MIDST OF THE ENEMY'S HEAVY ONSLAUGHT, LUTE BARNUM REORGANIZED HIS TROOPS AND LED A COUNTERATTACK.HE DIRECTED RESCUE HELICOPTERS TO EVACUATE THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.>> I TOLD EVERYBODY WE ARE GOING TO GO OUT A SQUAD AT A TIME. WHEN I SAY GO, YOU RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN TOWARDS THE VILLAGE. AND DON'T STOP. THE ONLY TIME YOU STOP, A MARINE FALLS DOWN, YOU STOP AND PICK THEM UP BECAUSE YOU DON'T LEAVE ANYBODY ON THE BATTLEFIELD.WE MADE IT OUT, AND I WAS THE LAST ONE OUT. THE GREAT HIS THING I EVER HEARD IS THE BEGUNNY SAID ALL ACCOUNTED FOR.>> WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU HEARD THAT?HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU GET OUT?>> WELL, I SAVED ABOUT 130. THAT IS MORE REWARD THAN THIS.>> THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN THE NAME OF THE CONGRESS, TAKES PLEASURE IN PRESENTING THE MEDAL OF HONOR, TO FIRST LIEUTENANT, NOW CAPTAIN, HARVEY C. BARNUM, JR. >> TO SABANNING THE LIVES OF MANY ON THAT DECEMBER DAY IN 1965, BARNUM RECEIVED THE MEDAL OF HONOR IN FEBRUARY OF 1967. IN HIS CASE, IT TOOK JUST 14 MONTHS. WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT YOUR CAREER AND ALL THE TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES YOU HAVE HAD, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT IT? >> I FEEL BLESSED.I REALLY DO.>> WHY DO YOU THINK SOME PEOPLE DID NOT GET THEIR MEDAL, HE WE LOOK BACK NOW AND SAY THEY CLEARLY DESERVED IT.>> I CAN SEE THAT BIAS, PERSONAL BIAS.YOU KNOW, WHEN WE ARE DEALING WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO MAKE DECISIONS, WE ARE DEALING WITH IMPERFECTION. AS A RESULT, THE RIGHT THING SOMETIMES IS NOT DONE.>> DO YOU THINK IT MATTERS TO SET HISTORY STRAIGHT? >> WITHOUT OUR HISTORY, WHAT ARE WE? I MEAN WE ARE WHAT THOSE THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE US HAVE DONE.AS I SAY, IF YOU DON'T

Honoring Our Veterans: The Story of Col. Barnum’s Medal of Honor

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Updated: 10:22 AM EST Nov 13, 2017

Colonel Harvey “Barney” Barnum, retired U.S. Marine Corps Officer, saved over 130 lives during the Vietnam War, leading a counterattack while facing heavy enemy fire. For this act of bravery, he received the U.S. military’s highest accolade: The Medal of Honor. Watch his story of valor and how, at the young age of 26, it catapulted his military career.